Trade Me picks new ad agency after four-way pitch

Four of NZ's big agencies vied for the Trade Me account. Photo / File

Trade Me has appointed agencies from the Clemenger Group to take over its advertising account.

Auckland-based Colenso BBDO and Wellington-based Clemenger Group will now take over the responsibility of leading the Trade Me brand through a period of significant change.

"Clemenger BBDO and Colenso BBDO are a formidable team and they offer depth and creativity to our marketing teams in both Auckland and Wellington," said Trade Me acting chief customer officer and marketing director Regan Savage.

"We were impressed with the individuals' experience, perspectives and enthusiasm for Trade Me, but also how they came together as a team. It's clear they have great creative pedigree."

This win marked a continuation of a trend, which has seen Clemenger-owned agencies work closer together to win important advertising accounts. Another example was the Farmers account pitch, which saw Colenso BBDO work closely with lead agency 99 to get the pitch across the line.

Viewed as one of the most prestigious e-commerce advertising accounts in New Zealand, the pitch attracted some of the biggest names in New Zealand advertising.

Vying for the account alongside the Clemenger Group were DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi and VMLY&R.

The Clemenger Group will have its work cut out as it helps Trade Me navigate through a number of changes.

Chief among them is the change of ownership, which has seen Trade Me sold to UK-based private equity firm Apax Partners for around $2.56 billion.

An immediate challenge for the marketing team will be to ensure that Trade Me solidifies its position as a New Zealand company despite its sale to a foreign entity.

In April, Trade Me named Norwegian online marketplace executive Anders Skoe as its new chief executive starting in July.

Skoe is currently the CEO of Finn.no - a similar business to Trade Me, operating across automotive, real estate and employment classifieds, as well as a general items marketplace.

Analysts will be looking to see how he develops Trade Me's push into new goods in the face of new regional competition from Amazon and Alibaba.